Shonte Clement

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Name: Shonte Clement   

Hometown: Greenville, S.C.

Year in School: Sophomore                          

Major: Digital Culture and Design

Shonte is studying digital culture and design.

Shonte's Video

Shonte Clement is a Coastal student full of enthusiasm, uniqueness and heart. A sophomore from Greenville, S.C., Shonte credits CCU with instilling in her a special spark that has made her so excited and passionate about life. Once enrolled at Coastal, Shonte says she was immediately touched by the “we care about you” vibe that permeated throughout campus. The positivity had a noticeable impact on her daily outlook.

Coastal has proven to be the perfect home for a person of diverse interests such as Shonte.  She is a big fan of video games. She can talk anime with the best of them. She enjoys YouTube. She studies beauty care. She loves to sing. She takes leadership roles. Not one to shy away from pursuing what interests her, Shonte is a young woman who embraces the idea that you don’t have to focus on one thing or similar things.

But what stands out about Shonte most is not her enthusiasm nor her eclectic list of interests. Rather, it is her dedication to always persevere.  Stating that “overcoming challenges and trials is a big part of life that defines you as a person,” Shonte openly welcomes struggles and does her best to conquer them and come out stronger. With that attitude, she will continue to not just prosper at Coastal but throughout her entire life.

Shonte is from Greenville, S.C.
Shonte is a sophomore

Q&A with Shonte

How did you hear about Coastal?: My older sister transferred here a year and a half ago, so Coastal had been on my radar for quite a while before I decided to come here.

Why did you come to Coastal?: I was stuck between Coastal and USC-Columbia for a long time. When I was browsing for a major that fit what I was looking for, I found the proposal for Coastal's digital culture and design program. I took it as a sign that I had to come to Coastal!

Favorite professor: My favorite professor out of all the amazing ones I have had is Jen Boyle, Ph..D. She teaches a lot of my major specific classes, and she is my major advisor. I had a class with Professor Boyle this past semester that had an extensive project that she helped me significantly on. She listened to my ideas, gave me some resources to look at and most importantly validated the importance of what I was researching. It was very encouraging, which made me excited to see what the future has in store for me.

Favorite class: My favorite class I have taken at Coastal so far was the war and society class I took my first semester with Professor Gunn. He was amazing, and made the class all the more interesting. The course was focused on the history of war and conflicts, and how they shaped historical relationships between countries and peoples. I love deep discussions about humanity and conflict, so the class was a great time.

Favorite aspect of Coastal?: Aside from the family feel at CCU, it has to be how accessible every resource on campus is. That, and how Coastal really values the opinion and voices of its students. I feel like I can get in touch with anyone on campus, and they would listen to what I have to say or direct me to someone that can. It makes me feel valued not only as a student, but as an asset that Coastal is invested in.

Favorite aspect of living in the Conway/Myrtle Beach area?: There are so many cool restaurants to go to. You can pick any random place to have a great dining experience, or you can go to your tried and true favorites!

Clubs/Intramurals/other extracurricular activities involved in?: I was involved in Leadership Challenge my first semester at Coastal, but I had to stop because I was spreading myself too thin. It's a great organization to get in touch with your inner leader, and I think it is a great start to getting involved on campus!

Do you work anywhere currently (either on or off campus)?: Over the summer, I was an orientation leader! I was the one in the teal polo that had fun all day walking around campus and talking to new incoming students and their families. I loved the experience so much that I decided to continue working with the Office of Student Life! I am excited to see where my involvement with the office will take me.

Plans after graduation?:  I am not too sure where my path will lead, but my ultimate goal will be to create stories that depict grossly underrepresented people, like people of color, in prominent roles doing amazing things.      

What are your hobbies?: I really love to play video games, but the ones that I want right now are way too expensive for my lifestyle at the current moment. So, I watch beauty videos and gaming videos on YouTube, and I watch and discuss anime with my sister. It gets me ready to think about storylines and characters for my future, plus I think it is fun!

Do you have any hidden talents?: I can sing really well when I am trying, but I think having fun belting out your favorite tunes is more important than looking cool singing. However, I probably think that way because I only sound good half the time anyway.

Bonus Info: I think the two most important keys for success in college, and beyond, are learning to love who you are and pursuing something you are passionate about. It is a hard journey, and sometimes neither of those two things seem possible in the moment. Hold fast to what you want for yourself and what you love, and things will begin to fall into place. When they don’t, remember that you have an entire family at Coastal to help you through it all.